Author
Topic: Comments on this design for LBE (Read 7502 times)

I just bought an 18.5 inch Weber kettle with the intention of converting it to a LBE.

I read the entire LBE thread and a lot of people seem to have great results, but also a lot of people seem to have a hard time getting the top heat that they want.

So before cutting my grill up (I paid 115 for it here in Canada, not 40 off craigslist!), I got to thinking and was wondering if anyone had thought of and/or tried to build a custom shaped propane burner that instead of being under the kettle, would be inside the kettle around the pizza. I'm thinking something like a 3/4 circle burner.

My idea is that the heat source would be on the same level as the pizza (like a WFO), so it should be easier to get the top heat needed to cook it properly.

I attached a drawing of what I have in mind to make it easier to understand.

Does this seem feasible? It would be my first time building a propane burner, but from the research that I've done, it seems to be relatively straight forward.

I would love to hear your comments about this before I actually build it. Any reason why this is a stupid idea or why it might not work?

Don't see a single thing wrong with the concept. But you should really just go ahead and get a round kiln shelf that completely fills the grill. Pop a top stone on that, cut out the side of the dome for launch and recovery (or use a kettle pizza insert) and awaay you go. You're basically making a tiny MB gas deck oven at that point.

Don't see a single thing wrong with the concept. But you should really just go ahead and get a round kiln shelf that completely fills the grill. Pop a top stone on that, cut out the side of the dome for launch and recovery (or use a kettle pizza insert) and awaay you go. You're basically making a tiny MB gas deck oven at that point.

buceriasdon

That's not a bad price for the venturi and jet, I've seen others on the internet that were more. A google search for homemade grill/propane burners etc. will yield quite a few hits as they are quite easy to build. You most likely will have to light each burner section as the flame won't jump across your couplers but that's no big deal. A drill press will make the drilling of the 1/16" holes much easier. I predict you will have to assemble the burner parts insuring they are good and tight, lay out your holes and punch the drill hole location so the drill bit doesn't wander. I have also seen burners that were simply slit and they seem to work well but I have no personal experience with those. Two rows of holes along the sides is customary.Don

That's not a bad price for the venturi and jet, I've seen others on the internet that were more. A google search for homemade grill/propane burners etc. will yield quite a few hits as they are quite easy to build. You most likely will have to light each burner section as the flame won't jump across your couplers but that's no big deal. A drill press will make the drilling of the small holes much easier. I predict you will have to assemble the burner parts insuring they are good and tight, lay out your holes and punch the drill hole location so the drill bit doesn't wander. I have also seen burners that were simply slit and they seem to work well but I have no personal experience with those.Don

Yep I've been using Google and finding some helpful information.

Hadn't thought of having to light the sections separately but it makes sense, not a big deal though. I have an old BBQ that I can take parts off of, maybe I can even salvage the starter. My original plan was to take a single length of pipe and bend it, but I have no idea how I would do that.

I believe your idea has merit, but only if there is a stone in the lid.

Thanks for the info!

Canadian Tire does sell turkey fryers, but the burner is usually 1 piece with the burner, so I'd have to cut it off and thread it. At least that's the case with my turkey fryer and all the others that I seen online.

scott123

First, making a burner may seem easy enough, but there are major safety issues involved. There's also, I believe, a great deal of difference between the burner making videos on youtube and the kind of BTUs that you're going to need for this. Just because the flame is closer to the pizza, doesn't mean that the BTUs can be considerably less than a traditional LBE setup. A high BTU DIY burner could involve more holes, bigger holes, a higher pressure valve, or all of the above. I have no idea. I am relatively certain that as you move away from simple low BTU burners to high BTU, safety becomes a bigger factor. Proceed very carefully and do plenty of research.

Secondly, based up the dimension of the stone in your diagram, the stone will be 14". For Neapolitan pizza, you may settle on something smaller, but you will want the option for doing 14" pizzas and launching 14" pizzas on a 14" stone is close to impossible. If you are going to take the time to do this, I'd really see if you can track down a larger weber. Everything should fit a lot more comfortably.

Third, I think you're going to want to point the holes slightly towards the pizza, at an angle, rather than pointing straight up.

Lastly, the arc of the burner doesn't need to be any more than 180 degrees. You don't need to fill that much of the circle with burners- a semi-circle is sufficient.

Gene, I'm not sure I understand. All the low pressure burners I've seen in grills and the like are on the upper most on both sides. Don

Don for boiling water in a pot or cooking in a skillet it usually does look like the one you have. I had just looked at that Hobart thread, using the pip burner for a log lighter -or- actually cooking with the burner, they dont want wood stuff or food or grease falling down and plugging the holes. I don't think well see that here.

I called the guy at tejas one time and asked the correct size venturi and he told me what it was. I can't remember it, but it is a "letter size" like A or N or something. A machine shop could drill you one in a piece of brass for pretty cheap. But it has got to be perfect or it won't burn correctly and it will make you sick to smell the exhaust. Don't ask how I know this.

I called the guy at tejas one time and asked the correct size venturi and he told me what it was. I can't remember it, but it is a "letter size" like A or N or something. A machine shop could drill you one in a piece of brass for pretty cheap. But it has got to be perfect or it won't burn correctly and it will make you sick to smell the exhaust. Don't ask how I know this.

First, making a burner may seem easy enough, but there are major safety issues involved. There's also, I believe, a great deal of difference between the burner making videos on youtube and the kind of BTUs that you're going to need for this. Just because the flame is closer to the pizza, doesn't mean that the BTUs can be considerably less than a traditional LBE setup. A high BTU DIY burner could involve more holes, bigger holes, a higher pressure valve, or all of the above. I have no idea. I am relatively certain that as you move away from simple low BTU burners to high BTU, safety becomes a bigger factor. Proceed very carefully and do plenty of research.

Secondly, based up the dimension of the stone in your diagram, the stone will be 14". For Neapolitan pizza, you may settle on something smaller, but you will want the option for doing 14" pizzas and launching 14" pizzas on a 14" stone is close to impossible. If you are going to take the time to do this, I'd really see if you can track down a larger weber. Everything should fit a lot more comfortably.

Third, I think you're going to want to point the holes slightly towards the pizza, at an angle, rather than pointing straight up.

Lastly, the arc of the burner doesn't need to be any more than 180 degrees. You don't need to fill that much of the circle with burners- a semi-circle is sufficient.

1. You're right, I'm not quite ready to build this yet, although from what I can tell so far, it seems pretty straight forward. I'm hoping someone with more experience chimes in with safety precautions.

2. My diagram is not really to scale. Looking at the kettle and the stone, I will be able to fit my stone (15") in there with plenty of room for the burner. I always make 12" pizzas so this should be fine. Pretty much the same as people who use the 18.5" kettle to build a LBE.

3. Good idea. I will give this a try.

4. You're probably right on this one. Maybe instead of using 5 six inch pipes, I'll just use 3. I'm sure I'll have to turn the pizza anyway.

Here I come again with a Dissenting opinion, lol. I think the proposed design will take forever to get the stone to temperature. Commercial sized ovens designed like this with pipe burners are notirious for extremely long heat up times from cold. I have a different idea I will post when I'm at a computer and not on a phone.

Logged

-Jeff

buceriasdon

The jet is a threaded tube with a very tiny hole in the end from which gas enters the combustion chamber( the venturi) and mixes with air then is pushed thru the burners. The jet threads into the center hole in the venturi casting. The one you linked is just fine, it only needs a adjustment valve, hose, regulator added and you're set.Don

OK...now comes the hard part...".My idea is that the heat source would be on the same level as the pizza (like a WFO), so it should be easier to get the top heat needed to cook it properly."

A WFO's heat source also comes from fire/coals being directly on the deck. With your upward facing burner you are going to need more insulation than you would probably care to deal with...unless you like under cooked bottoms

You are building something that can kill you if done improperly. If your not comfortable with that, then stop now.

Well, I guess it is for pizza, so .....

I'm aware of that, and that's why I wanna take all the safety precautions. That's why I'm posting here before going ahead with the build. Ive been reading about building burners for a couple of days now, but didn't find much information on safety. Any advice?